Learn, Live and Love
by CockatielLover
Summary: Follow a young female shinigami through her life of joy and sorrow, of lies and love.
1. New life

**NOTE: **This is a re-do of _"Of the Past, Present and Future"_, since I changed Resu's past. Enjoy!

* * *

The girl drew a small circle into the dirt with a bent stick she found on the ground. Her shoulder length brown hair framed her childish face, hair collected in the middle, on her nose. Bangs went in front of her forest green eyes, obscuring part of her view. She looked up at the blue sky before leaning back against a nearby tree.

Her name was Resu, and she was a soul that had just arrived a few weeks ago into the Rukongai. She had been lost, and wandered the busy town, accidentally tripping and being pushed by others. She had found refugee in an abandoned house, and remained in that house for two days before an elderly woman found her, offering her a payment in food such as bread and apples. Resu was skeptical at first before she accepted.

Now the girl let out a sigh, bored. Sobo (as she now referred to the woman, the two having almost a parently relationship) had nothing for her to do, and she just sat there. Sadly, none of her friends were able to play with her today, not even Momo Hinamori. She had met the girl not too long ago, when she came to buy food for her family.

She had seemed nice, so Resu decided to befriend her, and the two didn't take long before they became best friends.

Resu got up from her spot and headed towards Soba's shop before taking her usual spot at the counter.

_'Might as well stay here,' _Resu thought, her eyes half-lidded. An hour passed as Resu remained caught up in her thoughts, a figure stepping into the shop as Resu remained unaware of them.

"Ah, hello there, may I ask if you have any apples?" the figure asked. Resu snapped out of her trance, looking up into the lime green eyes of a tall male, sandy blonde hair blowing in the soft wind. She looked in awe before shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, we haven't had apples—" Resu yawned mid-sentence. "In a few days." The young male looked at Resu, his eyes seeming thoughtful.

"That's a shame. May I ask you what your name is?"

"I'm Resu."

"You don't remember your last name?" Resu shook her head. "Hm. You seem tired, have you not been able to sleep well?"

"No, my bed isn't that comfy." She rubbed her eyes.

"Poor girl..." he softly sighed.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Chikao... Chikao Sosora," he smiled.

"Nice to meet you Chi-kun!" Resu smiled and giggled. The young man chuckled before pulling out a small bag and a bento box from a satchel. Resu's eyes widened at the bento, her mouth slightly hanging open when he placed them on the counter.

"I couldn't eat this all by myself, and what I have here should be enough for you to buy some sweets." He placed the small bag close to Resu, pulling out two pairs of chopsticks from the same satchel, handing one pair to her.

"B-but... why?"

"Because there just aren't enough children eating in the Rukongai, and I thought if I can help one child, it's a start," he smiled, opening the bento. The sweet smell of sugar cane shrimp and spicy chicken made Resu's stomach growl, and made her eyes grow as wide as dinner plates. Chikao laughed softly before taking one piece of the sugar cane shrimp and stuffing it into his mouth. Resu did the same, her eyes closing.

"Mmmmmm, this is delicious!" Resu said, digging into the bento. Chikao watched her with a happy smile... she reminded him so much of his own daughter, which he had lost many years ago. He reached over, placing his hand on Resu's head. She looked up at him, her cheeks puffed out with food before she smiled at him, lightly blushing. Chikao's eyes slightly glazed over, sensing a light aura coming from the girl.

_'She... has potential, doesn't she? I can already sense the spiritual power slowly gathering in her, though it's very weak at the moment,'_ Chikao thought to himself. Yes, the girl had potential, and he had to find a way to help her harness that power.

* * *

The young man visited Resu almost every day, bringing a bento box along with him every day for them two to share. Resu heard from her friends about the shinigami, who wore black attire and fought off large monsters called hollows with weapons called zanpakutos. Curiosity soon got Resu one day.

As the two sat down and ate, Resu stared at Chikao. He blinked at her, slightly furrowing his eyebrows.

"Something bothering you, Resu?" he asked her.

"I wanted to ask you, are you a shinigami?" she bluntly asked, seeing Chikao's eyes soften up.

"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?"

"I was curious. Do you kill monsters?"

"Yes, I do. They're called hollows. Us shinigami protect souls like you from being eaten by the hollows," he smiled.

"But isn't it hard?" Resu whined. Chikao nodded.

"It is, but it's worth it. I feel happy knowing I protected people from being eaten, or killed." Resu gazed at him before standing up.

"I wanna be a shinigami! I wanna protect my friends here!" she giggled, pumping one fist into the air. Chikao laughed before his expression grew serious.

"Resu, it'll need a lot of training... are you sure you'd be up for it?"

"Of course! Anything for my friends." Chikao couldn't help but to smile. Sure, she'll go through years of hard work, but... he knew she could do it.

"Alright.. I may have an idea that can get you into the Seireitei."

"Seireitei?" Resu tilted her head to the side. Chikao pointed outside to the towering white walls and buildings in the far distance.

"That's were shinigami live," he smiled. Resu cooed in awe, clapping her hands together.

"I'll get to live there?!" She twirled around, laughing happily.

"Well, I do have a plan... I can sneak you in, and you may live with me in secret, since Rukongai residents can't come in there, or you can stay here and I can visit you."

Resu hesitated, seeming to be deep in thought.

"As long as I will become a shinigami... ok! But I need to say goodbye to my friends," she pouted before Chikao messed up her hair, getting an annoyed pout from Resu.

"Ah ha, alright. We can leave in two days at night. I'll come for you and we can go, ok?"

"Ok!"

...and thus, that's how Resu's life was about to be changed, completely turned around.


	2. Nii-san

"Momo-chan!" Resu yelled, catching up to the slightly older girl, who turned around to look at the other girl.

"Yes, Resu-chan?" she asked.

"I wanted to come and say goodbye, I'm gonna be leaving soon." Momo looked at Resu in surprise.

"Leaving? Where are you going? What about Soba?"

"Well, I can visit... but I'm going there." Resu pointed to the Seireitei, Momo's brown eyes following her finger.

"What? But that's where shinigami live!" Momo exclaimed.

"Yeah," Resu admitted. "But someone's gonna get me in." A smile lit up her face, but Momo slightly frowned.

"I hope you won't get caught... I don't know what they do to villagers inside." Resu nodded at Momo's words, her face serious.

"I know, but I promise I'll be ok! I hope we can meet up again soon," Resu promised, smiling. Momo smiled as well, before hugging Resu.

"Momo!" The voice of a boy could be heard.

"Ooh, I needed to get back to Shiro," Momo pouted. Resu blinked a few times in confusion before spotting ahoy heading towards them, his snow-white hair messy and spiked up.

"Momo, you're being slow again... we need to get back to soba and help her with the cooking." Momo nodded and let Resu go.

"Who's he?" Resu asked.

"Oh, his name is Shiro—"

"That's **Toshiro **to you, Momo." He softly glared at the taller girl, before turning his attention to Resu, his turquoise eyes holding annoyance. "My name is Toshiro Hitsugaya."

"Ah, nice to meet you. I'm Resu!" He simply looked at her before turning his attention to Momo.

"C'mon, let's go Momo." The older girl sighed and looked at Resu.

"Can't wait to meet you again, Resu," Momo said.

"Same here, Momo."

And thus, the two friends departed, not to see each other for the next few years.

* * *

"Soba?"

"Yes, Resu?"

"I'm... leaving, to become a shinigami." The girl looked down, shifting on her feet, unsure of what Soba's reaction will be. She felt herself being hugged by the elder woman, her eyes slightly widening.

"I knew this day would come," the elder sniffed, smiling. "I could feel it, you're growing stronger, my child." She gently placed her hand on Resu's head. Resu smiled.

"I promise to get strong! And I promise I'll visit you." They both nodded.

"Are you two done?" asked a voice. Resu turned her head to see Chikao standing in the doorway.

"Yes, we are," Soba said, letting Resu go. "I'll bring you your stuff, if you want to."

"Yes please!" the girl grinned. Soba left and came back with a small bundle of clothes and a roughened up notebook, handing them to Resu.

"Here you go, dear. Good luck."

"Again, thank you Soba."

"C'mon, we need to get moving before the night sets. We need to get past the guardian of the gate, Jidanbō. Thankfully he owes me one for something I did for him in the past, so he'll let us through." Resu once again nodded. Chikao squatted down. "C'mon, get on my back." Resu crawled on his back and the two left. Resu looked back to see her grandmother waving to her, and she waved back the best she could.

The two hurried to the gate, soon finding a slumbering Jidanbō, holding his axes close as if they were teddy bears. Chikao put Resu down and took out his zanpakutō, softly prodding Jidanbō's arm.

"What are you doing, Chi?" Resu asked, seeing Jidanbō stir slightly, his eyes opening.

"Waking the sleeping bear up." Chikao smiled and the guardian let out a yawn, sitting up.

"Oh 'ey Chikao... what're you doing here?" Jidanbō rubbed his eyes.

"Came here to ask for a favor. I know residents aren't really allowed in unless it's the season for the Academy... but this is a special case."

Jidanbō seemed to study Resu before nodding. "Can do that," he said, standing up and going to begin opening the gate.

"Ah, Jidanbō, can you please be very careful with how you open it? Open it just a bit, so we can slide inside without alerting anyone." Jidanbō nodded and began to open the gate. Squeaks were heard as it opened a bit, and Resu cringed a bit. Chikao gently pulled Resu to the gate.

"C'mon, we can both fit under there." The two crawled under and entered into the Seireitei. Resu gazed in awe around her at the buildings. Chikao smiled before poking his head out for one last look.

"Thanks, Jidanbō," Chikao grinned before joining Resu again. They heard the gate thud back down, and Chikao picked Resu up before jumping up on one of the buildings and running. Resu softly squeaked and clutched Chikao's uniform. The two ran, occasionally hearing the sounds of partying, but the rest complete silence. The two soon stopped in front of a building near a lake, or pond, Resu couldn't tell exactly. They headed inside and into a room.

"This is where I sleep," he said, turning on the kerosene lamp in his room. The lights flickered off the walls, and Resu looked around. There was a futon set up seemingly for her nearby. "And I've prepared a bed for you. Tomorrow I want to start teaching you how to write."

"Chi? But I already know how to write, Soba taught me," Resu smiled.

"Ah, she did?" Resu nodded and handed him the notebook. Chikao carefully flipped through the pages, reading short stories Resu wrote of mythical monsters and a band of friends trying to beat the monsters. He smiled, finding the stories cute and enjoyable to read. "She did... you have beautiful writing already, Resu... but I can help you expand your writing, to make it even more enjoyable to read." He handed the notebook back and Resu held it to her chest, nodding. "Now c'mon, it's late and you need your sleep."

Resu crawled into the small futon and Chikao pulled the covers over her, tucking her in and stroking her hair. Resu quickly drifted off to sleep, and Chikao places her things to the side.

_'I need to find some clean clothes for her,' _he thought, before opening a small box containing his daughter's old clothes. His chest slightly felt heavy at the painful memories, but he shut them out and picked out a few outfits for her to wear.

* * *

Resu stirred in her sleep, light stinging through her eyelids. She groggily opened them, sighing.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Chikao chuckled. Resu felt the smell of food hit her, and her stomach growled. "You slept for a while, it's noon."

"Myah, my bed was comfy," she mumbled, sitting up. Chikao laughed and went to her, placing a bento besides her.

"This is yours." Resu stared at him and Chikao handed her chopsticks with a blue serpent on it. "And so is this. My daughter used to use these but... I'll let you have them." Resu took the chopsticks and looked at them.

"They're beautiful... thank you... nii-san." She smiled and Chikao blushed.

"You don't need to call me nii-san, Resu." He smiled.

"But I see you as my big brother!" Resu hugged him and he hugged her back, chuckling.

"Ah ha your choice... hey, Resu?"

"Yes, nii-san?"

"Would you... like to do a bit of training? It's best to start early." Resu gazed at him before nodding excitedly.

"Yes!"


End file.
